The Literary Geography of İstanbul and the Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar in the Framework of the Narration and Tourism Relationship

Introduction

As in all other fields, postmodernity also paved the way for experiences oriented toward the individual in tourism and gave rise to the emergence of the special interest tourism which is a new field of experience in addition to mass tourism. In this alternative tourism, the desire and pleasure object of the individual moved towards his own experience fields, rather than collective experiences. In this new touristic experience shaped according to the individual and intellectual needs of the person, the concepts of “identity” and “desire” started to come into prominence and thus the subject of “diversity” in tourism became a matter that should be given thought. From health to sports, from science to arts many needs or interests have oriented touristic experiences under this diversity. At this point, it is clear that one of the most important factors shaping the touristic experiences of individuals is their intellectual experience. Since the intellectual experiences of individuals affect their touristic activities while their touristic experiences affect their intellectual accumulation; there is a reciprocal and inseparable relationship between tourism and intellectual experiences. Among these intellectual experiences, literature started to affect, change and diversify the touristic activities of individuals as one of the most prominent areas when it comes to diversity in tourism and alternative tourism. Many subjects from literary texts (narrations, travel writings) to literary personalities (writer, fictitious personalities), from literary geography (actual-fictitious localities) to literary activities provide individuals an aesthetic pleasure that would be incorporated into their intellectual experience together with their desire to re-experience in the course of the touristic activity. At this point, all the activities experienced by individuals in the field of literature as tourists also turn into an artistic activity as much as they are a touristic activity. The psychological state of the person in relation to an artistic object and the psychological state created by a touristic activity he/she experiences in the field of arts and literature come close to each other. Since all the details concerning writers, works and readers that you might make mention of within the field of literature have the potential of turning into a touristic motivation sociologically as well as psychologically, at this point, it has become necessary to talk about literary tourism on its own. Literature, which is one of the fields for experiencing a city within the scope of cultural tourism, also turned into special interest tourism as a field having a touristic experience diversity. Literary tourism is an important and growing sector of the tourism industry, associated with places celebrated for literary depictions and/or connections with literary figures (Squire, 1996). Tourism then originates when the popularity of a literary depiction or the stature of an individual author is such that people are drawn to visit the places that he/she wrote about or was associated with (Busby & Klug, 2001, p. 319). Since men of letters and literary works which form an integral part of the city identity have the power to form a feeling of identity and sense of belonging for the tourist, it is necessary to consider literary tourism on a multidimensional basis with respect to tourism as well as artistic activity.